Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas, the youngest manager in the English Premier League at the age of 33, finds himself under the spotlight himself as the Blues seek to regain their EPL title.

''I just want to be first,'' said Villas-Boas, who arrived from Porto. ''We look for excellence and look to win back the title that escaped us last season. We'll do everything in our power to win it back. We've had a good pre-season and everyone is feeling excited to coming back to competitive games."

Villas-Boas has faced inevitable comparisons with countryman Jose Mourinho, who came to Stamford Bridge from Porto in 2004. ''I don't have enough personality to copy people. I express myself as I am. It's for others if they see a certain coincidence in that. I've lived with it through my short managerial career. I have no problem with it.''

Villas-Boas says the media is obsessed with his age. "'The players are old and the manager is young,'" he said. You have to be, at any age, competent enough to be successful. I think we're competent enough."